A complaint has been made to a rental car agency after an Otago woman says she witnessed a tourist defecating in the bush at a historic reserve.
Michelle Cliff was staying at Gabriel's Gully near Lawrence, the site of Central Otago's largest gold rush, in February when she came across two women from Germany travelling in a Jucy campervan.
Ms Cliff said she saw one of the women defecate twice in the bush, and then found she had covered it with leaves afterwards.
"My husband confronted her companion and said we had photographed the incident - she could only say that her friend 'had the runs'," Ms Cliff said.
"We had been talking to both of them prior to this incident and had talked about the importance of being self contained, which their van was."
Public defecation is a crime in New Zealand, with a fine of up to $200 unless the person can prove they had reasonable grounds for believing no one would see them.
Ms Cliff said she had complained to Jucy.
Jucy's NZ Rentals CEO Tom Ruddenklau said he and the Jucy team was just as disappointed as Ms Cliff was.
"When people pick up campers we've got quite a bit of information we share - we've got an information video about freedom camping and we're pretty straightforward about what the expectations are," Mr Ruddenklau said.
He said the tourists had already returned their campervan, but that in the case of offences being reported to them, Jucy would contact the customer and coordinate with police.
"It's just really frustrating for us really."
Mr Ruddenklau said Jucy is involved in conversations with councils in tourist hotspots around freedom camping issues.
"It's a really topical issue, we've got a responsibility," Mr Ruddenklau said.
"We've got a fantastic resource called New Zealand and we want everyone to have a positive experience, and we want to do our bit to help."
Last week, a Motueka man filmed another tourist defecating on a public street before tracking him down and calling the council.
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